


Her Real Family

by Halo20601



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Inspired by Return of the Joker, Light Angst, Lilith gets what she deserves, Luz roasts Lilith, Magic, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot, Spoilers for Episode: s01e18 Agony of a Witch, This probably won't happen in the next episode, Violence, Written Pre-Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26093239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halo20601/pseuds/Halo20601
Summary: Takes place after Agony of a Witch; spoiler warning if you haven't seen it.Luz confronts Lilith to save Eda.[Non-Canon]
Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & King & Luz Noceda
Comments: 14
Kudos: 145





	Her Real Family

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story yesterday, but as I was editing it, the power went out for the rest of the night. So, as I was putting the last touches on it today, the promo for the Season Finale came out. To those who are reading my Owl House x DC Universe Crossover, I'm still working on it; this was just something I wanted to get out before the promo was released — which didn't end up being the case. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this one-shot.

Luz had broken into the Conformatorium successfully. Now all that was left to do was find Eda and bring her back. Back to the Owl House... and to herself. She had her glyphs, the Witch's Wool cloak Eda made for her, and her backpack — which contained what she hoped would be the cure. But one problem stood in her way.

"What are you doing here?" Lilith demanded. "I thought I told you to go back to the Human Realm."

"I'm not going anywhere while Eda needs me!" Luz shouted.

"I should've known her little pet would've been as stubborn as her." Lilith summoned her staff. "But I didn't think you'd be foolish enough to come alone."

"I didn't."

King let out a squeak of rage as he jumped on and bit down on Lilith's arm. "Ahhhhhhhh!" The Emperor's Witch cried in pain, trying to shake King off. "Get off of me!"

"Go 'ind E'a! Go 'ind E'a!" King repeated as he kept his jaws clamped on her arm, swinging around.

Luz nodded and shot straight for the stairs.

Lilith continued shaking her arm. "Get off me, you insolent little…"

"Ne'er!" King continued to rebel.

"That does it!" Lilith drew a circle and generated electricity in her hand. She grabbed the little demon with it.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" King screamed and was forced to let go, dropping to the ground.

"I will not let a Human undo everything I've worked for!" Lilith picked King up by the back of his neck before following Luz.

Speaking of which, Luz kept running up the flights of stairs and looking into the different rooms for any sign of Eda. A giant owl monster won't be that hard to miss.

"Stop, right there!" A deep and familiar voice said as Luz turned around. It was Warden Wrath. "I know you. You're the Human that thwarted my plans with the Owl Lady." He approached Luz with his massive hands holding something.

Luz took out her notepad and prepared some Fire spells. "I'm freeing Eda. And I'm not going to let you stop me."

"Stop you?" The Warden seemed confused. "I'm not going to stop you. I'm going to help you."

Now Luz was the confused one. "Tú eres qué?" Warden Wrath opened his hands to reveal, "Owlbert!" The Palisman flew over to Luz and rubbed against her cheek. "I missed you, too."

"I got to him before Emperor Belos could crack him open." Owlbert attested the claim with a hoot.

"Why are you helping me?"

"I saw the creature they dragged in and was shocked to learn it was the Witch who's heart I am after. But I also heard what they had to do to get her. I may have done cruel things, but I would never do what was done. I know where Eda is and can take you to her."

Luz looked down at Owlbert, who affirmed what Wrath said with a hoot. "Alright, but I only trust you because Owlbert trusts you."

"Follow me." Wrath began leading the way but stopped. "By the way, if we make it out of this alive, could you put in a good word for me for Eda?"

"If we make it out of this alive, I'll consider it."

"Works for me."

Luz followed Wrath further up the stairs until they came across a large cage where the Owl Beast slammed against the bars to free itself. "Eda!" Luz called out. Her mentor's cursed form just shrieked at her, and Owlbert hid behind her in fear. "Why is she still like this? I thought the Emperor could cure her?"

"From what I've heard, this curse is beyond the Emperor's power."

"Don't worry, Eda. We're going to get you out of here."

"I'll need to sedate her before opening the cage." Wrath said as he walked over to a box on the wall with the Healing Coven's symbol. But before he could reach for it, a Fireball struck him from behind, and he collapsed to the ground.

Luz turned around and spotted Lilith with a struggling King in hand. "You're not going anywhere."

"Let me go! I'll pulverize you!" The squirming demon threatened.

"Let King go!" Luz demanded.

"I knew I should've finished you off when I had the chance. I won't make the same mistake again."

"My friends, Willow and Gus, they know what kind of person you are. And Amity, too. We told her. If I fail, they'll find a way to free Eda."

"Then I'll deal with them like how I'll deal with you."

Luz was stunned at what she just heard. "You… You would kill your apprentice."

Lilith narrowed her eyes. "If I must."

Luz realized that there was no negotiating with her, and she was not going to let her hurt her friends. She pasted two Light glyphs onto her hands and charged at Lilith, who held King out like a shield — just like she did with her to capture Eda. Luz leaped into the air and clapped the glyphs together. The radiance was so bright that it forced Lilith to shield her eyes and drop King in the process. The little demon scampered away, and Luz stepped back while Lilith was disoriented.

Eda continued to shriek and slam herself against the bars. "King." Luz ran over to her friend and handed him the backpack. "I need you to help make Eda remember who she is."

"Do you think this will work?" He asked.

"I h…" Luz paused. "I know it'll work."

"You little brat." Lilith spat as her vision returned.

"I'll keep her busy." Luz took out three Plant glyphs and sent a trio of large vines after Lilith.

Enraged at her defiance, Lilith spun her staff and sent a stream of blue fire at the girl, burning the vines to ash. Luz took the Witch's Wool to shield herself as the blast sent her flying into the next room. The magical cloak prevented her from being burned, but it did not dampen the impact. Before she could react, Lilith teleported into the room and smacked Luz across the face with her staff, sending her farther back.

"You're out of your league, child." Lilith taunted. "Your powers are just cheap parlor tricks compared to mine."

"Probably," Luz responded as she stood up, she touched her runny nose and saw blood on her fingers. "But I'm still going to beat you."

Lilith chuckled. "You beat me? You're just an insignificant Human who wound up here just by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. There's nothing special about you. There never was. But if this is how you wish to die…"

"Maybe you're right, but what you think of me doesn't matter. I know who I am. And I'm not going home without Eda. Bailemos, Bruja!"

Lilith scowled at the girl and dashed towards her with blue flames trailing behind. Luz managed to roll out of the way and slammed an Ice glyph onto the ground. The pillar shot up and hit Lilith in the stomach. She stumbled back before, but quickly regained her balance and countered with a Fireball. Luz protected herself with the cloak, but the impact still knocked out the wind from her lungs, and a second one did so again.

She looked up as Lilith was about to bring her staff down on her. Luz tumbled out of the way and used a Fire glyph to burn Lilith's feet. Lilith yelped in pain and smacked Luz upside the head with her staff. Luz sent another vine to hit Lilith in the face with, but she sliced it apart with a blade of fire then tossed it at the girl. Luz managed to duck from the blade but wasn't fast enough to avoid another hit to the face.

"I don't know why I was expecting a challenge." Lilith continued to taunt. "No one is a match for me. I'm the leader of the Emperor's Coven for a reason."

"Alguna vez se calla?" Luz cursed to herself. All she's ever said is how great she is; on and on about how great she is, and… Luz came to realize something. She figured out Lilith's weakness. A weakness that she should've seen upon learning it was her who cursed Eda. "So that's what all of this has been about."

Luz took out three Plant glyphs and Fire glyphs and slammed them on the ground at the same time. More vines came at Lilith, who smirked as she cut them apart with another fire blade, which triggered the Fire spell and made them explode like a bomb. The impact slammed Lilith into a wall, while Luz used her cloak to keep her skin safe.

"What was that?" Lilith questioned.

"It's called being creative; something Eda taught me," Luz responded with renewed confidence.

The anger in Lilith's expression became more pronounced. "Magic isn't supposed to be used like that! It's dangerous!"

"Eda, and I prefer clever." Luz slammed her Fire and Ice glyphs together and filled the room up with steam. This distracted Lilith enough for Luz to sneak away, but Lilith saw where she was going and pursued.

Meanwhile, King opened the backpack. Inside was a collection of items; reminders of the various hijinks the trio had gotten into the last couple of months. They believe that the Eda they know is somewhere inside the Owl Beast, and they just need to bring her out.

"Eda, do you remember this?" King asked as he showed her the tiny crown Luz gave him after they broke into the Conformatorium the first time around. The Owl Beast just shrieked. "Or this?" King held the fake map that Luz was duped into that one time. But the Owl Beast continued to shriek. "Maybe this will work." King took out the sparkly pen and turned it on. Owl Eda was immediately entranced by it like she was before. "Do you remember?" The batteries then died, and Eda shrieked again. "Eda, I know you're in there. Luz needs you."

The backpack tipped over, and a picture fell out. It was a recent one; featuring Eda, King, Hooty, Willow, Gus, Amity, and, "L… Lu…"

King gasped. "What did you say?"

"L… Lu…" The Owl Beast was trying to make words.

"Yes, that's Luz. Your apprentice. The Human who came into our lives and made it better. She's here, and she's fighting your sister to save you. She's fighting your sister because she loves you; because we all love you. You need to remember. You need to come back to us."

"L… Lu… L… Lu… Luz…" The beast's black eyes began dissolving back to their original color slowly… and something more.

As that was happening, Lilith followed Luz into a new room. It was completely dark, save for the light of her staff, and there were many columns where the girl could hide behind. "Where are you? Come out, come out, wherever you are." Lilith crooned. She saw something move to her left. "Found you!" She launched a Fireball and destroyed the column. The destroyed support glowed with the symbol of an Ice glyph, which shot out and slammed into her frame. Lilith's frustration continued growing. "Show yourself, you coward!"

"I'm the coward?" Luz's voice echoed throughout the room. "That's rich coming from you."

Lilith thought she spotted Luz again and cast another spell, only to trigger a Plant glyph that smacked her across the face. "You don't belong here! Edalyn is with her real family!"

"Her real family? The real family that cursed her?" Lilith cast another spell upon seeing a shadow move, only to trigger another trap, with a Fire glyph this time. "I think I finally understand you now."

"And what, pray tell, do you understand?"

"The way Eda talked about you, I always assumed you joined the Emperor's Coven out of some crazy belief you have about him. But now I realize what it's always been about. Your ego." Lilith cast another spell and triggered another Plant glyph. "You were jealous of what Eda could do. That she was a more powerful Witch than you were. Heck, I bet if she joined the Coven, she would be the Emperor's favorite instead of you."

"You know nothing! All Edalyn did was squander her potential! She didn't deserve the power she had!" Lilith's anger continued to grow, and her spells became sloppier with each cast. She didn't care if she triggered more traps and inflicted more pain to herself; she wanted to shut Luz up.

"So, you had to curse your sister as a child to prove a point. But all it proves is that you were pitiful then as you are now."

"I'm not listening to this!" Lilith continued to cast more spells and trigger more traps. Her once pristine dress was damaged, her face bruised and scarred, and her straight hair was a frantic mess.

"I can't believe I was afraid of you. Lilith of the Emperor's Coven isn't a real Witch at all. Lilith of the Emperor's Coven is just a complete joke." Luz began to laugh. "And not even the good kind."

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop laughing!"

"You couldn't even beat Eda without giving her a handicap or without a hostage to hide behind."

"I command you to stop laughing!"

"And you know what I can't tell is funnier. That Eda's more of a true Witch than you'll ever be! Or that I'm more of a true Witch than you'll ever be!"

Lilith's rage reached its peak. "YOU ARE NOT A WITCH!" She cast the most powerful spell she could muster in her current state as blue flames enveloped everything. The fire spread across the room and broke apart the columns and burnt away the glyphs before they could activate. The entire room trembled as the roof above began to collapse all around.

If it weren't for the Witch's Wool, it would've been the end of Luz. Even though she wasn't burned, the blast caused her cloak to be undone and be blown away. The girl tried making it into the next room while avoiding everything collapsing around her. But she tripped, and rubble fell onto her. "Ahhhhhhhh!" She cried from the pain and soon realized she couldn't feel her legs. She tried pushing the rocks off, but they wouldn't budge.

"There you are." Lilith walked over to her in an unhinged manner. Luz looked for her glyphs and saw they were gathered in a pile next to her. She tried reaching for them, but they were set ablaze. Lilith threw her staff aside, got on top of the pinned girl, and enveloped her fingers around her throat. Luz struggled to breathe as she tried to force Lilith off, or free her throat, but couldn't do anything. "You're not a real Witch! So, you don't deserve to die like one!" She had a deranged smile on her face and a look of satisfaction in seeing Luz's life slip away. The girl thought that this was the end of the line... She was going to die here...

"Get your hands off my apprentice!" Before Lilith could process it, the mother of all Fireballs struck her in the back and sent her toppling off Luz and slamming right into a wall.

Luz took in several deep breaths and looked up to see a blazing shape of magical energy enveloping the shadowy silhouette of, "Eda!" Luz's eyes were filled with tears.

"Sorry for being late, kid." The Owl Lady said as she floated over to her.

King ran up from behind Eda, with Owlbert perched on his head, huffing and puffing. "You… are… really… fast…"

"How?" Lilith said as she forced herself up. "How are you back to normal? Answer me!"

"If you'll excuse me for one second, Luz." Eda glared at Lilith. "I have some unfinished business I need to take care of."

Lilith called for her staff, but Eda cast a spell to burn every part of it, except for the Palisman. Lilith cast spell after spell, each attack fueled by hatred, but Eda managed to deflect or avoid them. Lilith screamed as she unleashed her most potent spells, only for Eda to do so in turn. But the Owl Lady's spells overpowered Lilith's and sent her through the wall and kept on going until she landed into the middle of an empty cell. Before she could even stand, Eda appeared right in front of Lilith and pinned her against the wall.

"How is this…" Lilith tried mustering the words.

"No more words from you!" Eda snapped. "Now you're going to listen to me, sister. I will never join any Coven, especially the Emperor's Coven. I will never forgive you for what you did to me, to Luz, and to everyone I care about. And if you ever come near any of us again, I will end you."

Lilith looked over Eda's shoulder and saw King and Owlbert putting all the effort they could into freeing Luz. "You would choose them over your real family?"

"They are my real family." With that said, Eda left Lilith where she was and flew back to the people who put their lives on the line to save her. The energy surrounding Eda finally dissipated, revealing…

"Eda, your hair," Luz said. Her teacher's hair was no longer the elderly grey it once was, but bright orange. The features of her face changed, too; she still looked old but had a bit more youthfulness. "Does that mean the curse…"

"It's gone. I don't know how, but it's gone."

"Maybe it was the power of our love that broke it. Just like I thought it would."

"Kid, please, that sounds like a bunch of mushy stuff from your books."

Luz sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Eda rolled her eyes. "But I won't rule out the possibility. Can you walk?"

"I can stand, but I'll need some help."

"I got you." Eda pulled Luz up and let her lean against her.

Owlbert flew by and dropped the Witch's Wool cloak on the girl's head. "Thanks, Owlbert."

Lilith stepped out of the cell; her eyes still full of madness and envy. "No! I won't accept this!" She shouted as she eyed Luz and cast a spell intended to strike her.

But Eda sensed the oncoming attack and deflected it right back at her sister, striking her gemstone and sending her falling back. "It's over, Lily," Eda told her. "Stay down."

Lilith pointed at Eda. "It'll never be over while you're still free. Emperor Belos won't stop until…" Suddenly, plumage emerged from her arm. "No. No!"

Eda and Luz gasped as they saw what was happening. "She cursed herself."

Lilith's body began contorting, snapping and bending in unnatural ways as more feathers began to sprout. "Edalyn! Help me! Sister, please!"

Eda was about to step forward to help but stopped and — with a frigid glare — told Lilith, "You're the smart one. So, help yourself."

"Edalyn! Edalyn!" Lilith continued crying and changed until all that stood was a beast twice her size and had the appearance of a raven. What goes around, comes around. The transformed Lilith shrieked and charged at the prey in front of her. But the cell door suddenly closed shut, and the Raven Beast slammed into them, still screeching.

Luz, Eda, and King turned around and saw that Warden Wrath pulled a lever down. "That won't hold her for long. She'll need a new cell. You should all leave while you have the chance."

"Thank you, Warden," Luz said.

"So, are you going to hold up your end of the deal?"

"Of course."

"Yes, score for Warden Wrath."

"Great, now can we go home?" King asked. "I need to bake Luz a new cake for me to pop out of."

"And what deal is he talking about?" Eda asked her apprentice.

"I'll tell you when we get home," Luz replied.

The outlaws of the Boiling Isles took their leave, as they will have a long way down to go. Eda looked back for a moment and saw the transformed Lilith continuing to slam against the cell and shriek. The Owl Lady did hold some regret about what has happened to her sister. But if she's being honest with herself, she and Lilith haven't been sisters since they were kids.


End file.
